Search results for: William Michael Short

Authors: Michael Kassner

Abstract:

Elevated-temperature creep tests were performed on additively manufactured (AM) Inconel 625 over a relatively wide range of stress. The behavior was compared to conventional wrought alloy. It was found that the steady-state creep rates of the AM alloys were comparable, or even more favorable, than that of the wrought Inconel. However, the ductility of the AM alloy was significantly less than the wrought alloy. The ductility however was recovered with hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of the AM specimens. The basis for the loss and recovery of the ductility will be discussed in terms of the differences in the details of the microstructures. In summary, it appears that HIP AM Inconel 625, over the long-term testing of a year, has very favorable mechanical properties compared to the conventional alloy.

Keywords: Inconel, creep, additive, manufacturing

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Authors: Ahmad Sabry Mohamad, Kai F. Hoettges, Michael Pycraft Hughes

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This study investigates nanowires using Dielectrophoresis (DEP) in non-aqueous suspension of Tin (IV) Oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles dispersed in N,N-dimenthylformamide (DMF). The self assembly of nanowires in DEP impedance spectroscopy can be determined. In this work, dielectrophoretic method was used to measure non-organic molecules for estimating the permittivity and conductivity characteristic of the nanowires. As in aqueous such as salt solution has been dominating the transport of SnO2, which are the wire growth threshold, depend on applied voltage. While DEP assembly of nanowires depend on applied frequency, the applications of dielectrophoretic collection are measured using impedance spectroscopy.

Keywords: dielectrophoresis, impedance spectroscopy, nanowires, N, N-dimenthylformamide, SnO2

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Authors: William R. Crawley

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The current paper provides an examination of the primary conceptual and historical foundations leading to contemporary perspectives in criminological theory. This subject area involves the examination of theory that is vast and highly interdisciplinary but must, at its core, consider several postulates. The following areas of consideration will be the focus of this examination: presentation of various definitions of criminology as a discipline and attention to a dialogue which inquires as to whether criminological modes of explanation can be regarded as scientific with respect to focus, methods, and findings – e.g., conceptualization, operationalization, measurement strategies, analytical techniques, etc. Specifically, two opposing philosophical frameworks—naturalistic and anti-naturalistic philosophy—are examined by means of conceptual analysis for their necessary and sufficient conditions. Like all academic disciplines, for practitioners and students of criminology to understand and effectively use insights and discoveries, it is imperative that disciplinary axioms and methodologies are critically scrutinized. This paper provides a primer to this critique.

Keywords: anti-naturalistic philosophy, humanistic tradition, is criminology a science, naturalistic philosophy, nomological-deductive model

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Authors: Kimberly Tasha Jiayi Tang, Changqing Lin, Zhe Wang, Tze-Wai Wong, Md. Shakhaoat Hossain, Jian Yu, Alexis Lau

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Hong Kong has practiced a risk-based Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) system that sums hospitalization risks associated with short-term exposure to air pollu-tants. As an air pollution risk communication tool, it informs the public about the current air quality, anchoring around the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). Given the WHO's recent update in 2021, assessing how Hong Kong’s air quality risk communication can be en-hanced using these updated guidelines is essential. Hong Kong’s AQHI is lim-ited by solely focusing on short-term health risks, which could lead the public to underestimate cumulative health impacts. Therefore, we propose the intro-duction of a composite AQHI that reports both long-term and short-term health risks. Additionally, the WHO interim targets will be considered as anchor points for various health risk categories. Furthermore, with the increasing ozone levels in Hong Kong and Southern China due to improved NOx mitigation measures, it has been a challenging task in balancing health protection against climate mitigation. However, our findings present a promising outlook. Despite the rise in ozone levels, the combined health risks in Hong Kong and Guang-dong have seen a decline, largely due to reductions in NO2 and PM concentra-tions, both having significant health implications. By shifting from a concentra-tion-based approach to a health risk-based system like the AQHI, our study highlights the prospective of harmonizing health protection and climate mitiga-tion goals. This health-focused framework suggests that rigorous NOx controls can effective-ly serve both objectives in parallel.

Keywords: air quality management, air quality health index, health risk management, air pollution

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Authors: Abdulkarim Yusuf

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Motivation: The Nigerian economy has seen significant macroeconomic instability, fuelled mostly by an overreliance on fluctuating oil revenues. The rising disparity between tax receipts and government spending in Nigeria necessitates government borrowing to fund the anticipated pace of economic growth. Rising public debt and fiscal sustainability are limiting the government's ability to invest in key infrastructure that promotes private investment and growth in Nigeria. Objective: This paper fills an empirical research vacuum by examining the impact of public debt on fiscal sustainability in Nigeria, given the significance of fiscal stability in decreasing poverty and the constraints that an unsustainable debt burden imposes on it. Data and method: Annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2022 exposed to conventional and structural breaks stationarity tests and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag estimation approach were adopted for this study. Results: The results reveal that domestic debt stock, debt service payment, foreign reserve stock, exchange rate, and private investment all had a major adverse effect on fiscal stability in the long and short run, corroborating the debt overhang and crowding-out hypothesis. External debt stock, prime lending rate, and degree of trade openness, which boosted fiscal stability in the long run, had a major detrimental effect on fiscal stability in the short run, whereas foreign direct investment inflows had an important beneficial impact on fiscal stability in both the long and short run. Implications: The results indicate that fiscal measures that inspire domestic resource mobilization, sustainable debt management techniques, and dependence on external debt to boost deficit financing will improve fiscal stability and drive growth.

Keywords: ARDL co-integration, debt overhang, debt servicing, fiscal stability, public debt

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Authors: Eun Ko, Moonsung Choi, Sooim Shin

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4,4’-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (4,4’-DDT) is colorless, odorless organochlorine and known as persistent toxic organic pollutant accumulated in organs. In this study, effects of 4,4’-DDT on activities of mitochondrial electron transport chain system was analyzed. 4,4’-DDT is directly treated to isolated mitochondria from eyes of zebrafish and then activities of mitochondrial complex I, II, III, IV were measured spectrophotometrically. The reaction was proceeded immediately after adding 4,4’-DDT to examine the short-term exposing effects of persistent organic pollutant. As a result, high concentration of 4,4’-DDT treated mitochondria exhibited slightly enhanced activity in all complexes than non-treated one except complex III in male. Particularly, 4,4’-DDT was more effective on enzymatic activity in mitochondria isolated from eyes of male zebrafish. These results represented that 4,4’-DDT might temporarily induce to open up ion channel on isolated mitochondria resulting in increasing the functional activity of mitochondrial electron transport chain system.

Keywords: electron transport chain, mitochondrial function, persistent organic pollutant, spectrophotometric assay, zebrafish

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Authors: Mohammad Naseh Nasrollahi Shahri

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The article draws on Michael Bakhtin’s theory of language to examine peer interactions. It represents an analysis of other-repetition in student interactions. Several recent studies have explored various aspects of repetition in multiple contexts. However, other-repetition in peer interactions has not received enough attention. Building on previous studies, this study examines patterns of other-repetition or appropriation in the context of discussion activities performed by EFL learners. The analysis highlights the meaningfulness of other-repetition in a way that distinguishes them from rote-repetition. It is suggested that instances of repetition constitute third spaces between the self and other which provide ideal settings for language learning and demonstrate student agency and engagement.

Keywords: repetition, agency, Bakhtin, dialogue

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Authors: V. Keim, J. Spachtholz, J. Hammer

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The importance of fibre reinforced plastics continually increases due to the excellent mechanical properties, low material and manufacturing costs combined with significant weight reduction. Today, components are usually designed and calculated numerically by using finite element methods (FEM) to avoid expensive laboratory tests. These programs are based on material models including material specific deformation characteristics. In this research project, material models for short glass fibre reinforced plastics are presented to simulate the visco-elasto-plastic deformation behaviour. Prior to modelling specimens of the material EMS Grivory HTV-5H1, consisting of a Polyphthalamide matrix reinforced by 50wt.-% of short glass fibres, are characterized experimentally in terms of the highly time dependent deformation behaviour of the matrix material. To minimize the experimental effort, the cyclic deformation behaviour under tensile and compressive loading (R = −1) is characterized by isothermal complex low cycle fatigue (CLCF) tests. Combining cycles under two strain amplitudes and strain rates within three orders of magnitude and relaxation intervals into one experiment the visco-elastic deformation is characterized. To identify visco-plastic deformation monotonous tensile tests either displacement controlled or strain controlled (CERT) are compared. All relevant modelling parameters for this complex superposition of simultaneously varying mechanical loadings are quantified by these experiments. Subsequently, two different material models are compared with respect to their accuracy describing the visco-elasto-plastic deformation behaviour. First, based on Chaboche an extended 12 parameter model (EVP-KV2) is used to model cyclic visco-elasto-plasticity at two time scales. The parameters of the model including a total separation of elastic and plastic deformation are obtained by computational optimization using an evolutionary algorithm based on a fitness function called genetic algorithm. Second, the 12 parameter visco-elasto-plastic material model by Launay is used. In detail, the model contains a different type of a flow function based on the definition of the visco-plastic deformation as a part of the overall deformation. The accuracy of the models is verified by corresponding experimental LCF testing.

Keywords: complex low cycle fatigue, material modelling, short glass fibre reinforced polyphthalamides, visco-elasto-plastic deformation

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Authors: Ali Amin

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This paper describes a flipped learning initiative which was trialed in the delivery of the course: structural analysis and modelling. A short series of interactive videos were developed, which introduced the key concepts of each topic. The purpose of the videos was to introduce concepts and give the students more time to develop their thoughts prior to the lecture. This allowed more time for face to face engagement during the lecture. As part of the initial study, videos were developed for half the topics covered. The videos included a short summary of the key concepts ( < 10 mins each) as well as fully worked-out examples (~30mins each). Qualitative feedback was attained from the students. On a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree, students were rate statements such as 'The pre-class videos assisted your learning experience', 'I felt I could appreciate the content of the lecture more by watching the videos prior to class'. As a result of the pre-class engagement, the students formed more specific and targeted questions during class, and this generated greater comprehension of the material. The students also scored, on average, higher marks in questions pertaining to topics which had videos assigned to them.

Keywords: flipped learning, structural analysis, pre-class videos, engineering education

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Authors: Zhaoyu Chen

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In this study, an attempt was made to find reasons why tourists go to particular attractions. Tourists may be either motivated by the attractions or simply make the choice to satisfy their needs and desires. Based on the attractions in Hong Kong, this research was conducted to explore the attraction-related concepts to discuss how the attraction system works. Due to the limited studies on exploring the attractiveness of attractions through tourist movement patterns, the study aims to evaluate such indicators to determine whether tourists are motivated by attractiveness or their own needs. The investigation is conducted through the comparison of different source markets - Mainland China, short haul markets (excluding Mainland China) and long haul markets. The latest finding of Departing Visitor Survey (DVS) implemented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is employed for the analysis. Various tourist movement patterns are drawn from the practical data. The managerial implication to destination management organizations (DMOs) is suggested to better allocate attractions according to the needs of tourists.

Keywords: attractions, attraction system, Hong Kong, tourist movement patterns

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Authors: Michael Airton

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This case study examines the development of a new service delivery model for prisons that focuses on using NGO’s to provide more effective case management and post release support functions. The model includes the co-design of the service delivery model and innovative commercial agreements that encourage embedded service providers within the prison and continuity of services post release with outcomes based payment mechanisms. The collaboration of prison staff, probation and parole officers and NGO’s is critical to the success of the model and its ability to deliver value and positive outcomes in relation to desistance from offending.

Keywords: collaborative service delivery, desistance, non-government organisations, post release support services

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Authors: Sean Michael Kinney

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In 1666, Newton created the Law of Universal Gravitation. And in 1915, Einstein improved it to incorporate factors such as time dilation and gravitational lensing. But currently, there is a problem with this “universal” law. The math doesn’t work outside the confines of our solar system. And something is missing; any evidence of what gravity actually is and how it manifests. This paper explores the notion that gravity must obey the law of conservation of energy as all other forces in this universe have been shown to do. Explaining exactly what gravity is and how it manifests itself. And looking at many different implications that would be created are explained. And finally, use the math of Dynamic gravity to calculate Dark Energy and Dark Matter effects to explain all observations without the need for exotic measures.

Keywords: dynamic gravity, gravity, dark matter, dark energy

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Authors: Ashika Govender

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This study seeks to determine whether Okun’s Law is valid for the South African economy, using time series data for the period 2004 to 2014. The data were accessed from the South African Reserve Bank and Stats SA. The stationarity of the variables was analysed by applying unit root tests via the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (ADF), the Phillips-Perron (PP) test, and the Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin test (KPSS) test. The study used an ordinary least square (OLS) model in analysing the dynamic version of Okun’s law. The Error Correction Model (ECM) was used to analyse the short-run impact of GDP growth on unemployment, as well as the speed of adjustment. The results indicate a short run and long run relationship between unemployment rate and GDP growth rate in period 2004q1-2014q4, suggesting that Okun’s law is valid for the South African economy. With a 1 percent increase in GDP, unemployment can decrease by 0.13 percent, ceteris paribus. The research culminates in important policy recommendations, highlighting the relationship between unemployment and economic growth in the spirit of the National Development Plan.

Keywords: unemployment, economic growth, Okun's law, South Africa

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Authors: Michael Lousis

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The kind of the most important and conspicuous errors the students made during the three-years of testing of their progress in Algebra are presented in this article. The way these students’ errors changed over three-years of school Algebra learning also is shown. The sample is comprised of two hundred (200) English students and one hundred and fifty (150) Greek students, who were purposefully culled according to their participation in each occasion of testing in the development of the three-year Kassel Project in England and Greece, in both domains at once of Arithmetic and Algebra. Hence, for each of these English and Greek students, six test-scripts were available and corresponded to the three occasions of testing in both Arithmetic and Algebra respectively.

Keywords: algebra, errors, Kassel Project, progress of learning

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Authors: M. Shokry Rashwan

Abstract:

This study follows a number of experiments conducted at Red River College (RRC) to investigate the short term properties of tire derived aggregate (TDA) produced from shredding off-the-road (OTR) wasted tires in a proposed new application. The application targets replacing natural material used under concrete slabs and as backfills for residential homes’ basement slabs and walls, respectively, with TDA. The experimental work included determining: compressibility, gradation distribution, unit weight, hydraulic conductivity and lateral pressure. Based on the results of those short term properties; it was decided to move forward to study the long-term performance of this otherwise waste material through on-site demonstration. A full-scale basement replicating a typical Manitoba home was therefore built at RRC where both TDA and Natural Materials (NM) were used side-by-side. A large number of sensing and measuring systems are used to compare between the performances of each material when exposed to the typical ground and weather conditions. Parameters monitored and measured include heat losses, moisture migration, drainage ability, lateral pressure, relative movements of slabs and walls, an integrity of ground water and radon emissions. Up-to-date results have confirmed part of the conclusions reached from the earlier laboratory experiments. However, other results have shown that construction practices; such as placing and compaction, may need some adjustments to achieve more desirable outcomes. This presentation provides a review of both short-term tests as well as up-to-date analysis of the on-site demonstration.

Keywords: tire derived aggregate (TDA), basement construction, TDA material properties, lateral pressure of TDA, hydraulic conductivity of TDA

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Authors: Michael Tupý, Jaroslav Císař, Pavel Mokrejš, Dagmar Měřínská, Alice Tesaříková-Svobodová

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The worldwide problem is that the recycled PVB is wildly stored in landfills. However, PVB have very similar chemical properties such as PVC. Moreover, both of them are used in plasticized form. Thus, the thermal properties of plasticized PVC obtained from primary production and the PVB was obtained by recycling of windshields are compared. It is carried out in order to find degradable conditions and decide if blend of PVB/PVC can be processable together. Tested PVC contained 38 % of plasticizer diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and PVB was plasticized with 28 % of triethylene glycol, bis(2-ethylhexanoate) (3GO). Thermal and thermo-oxidative decomposition of both vinyl polymers are compared such as DSC and OOT analysis. The tensile strength analysis is added.

Keywords: polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl butyral, recycling, reprocessing, thermal analysis, decomposition

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Authors: Tathiana Yesenia Coy Mondragón, Jossitt William Vargas Cruz, Cristian Leonardo Gutiérrez Gómez

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The study of cosmic rays is based on two fundamental pillars: the detection of secondary cosmic rays on the Earth's surface and the detection of the source and origin of the cascade. In addition, the constant flow of RC generates a lot of interest for study due to the incidence of various natural phenomena, which makes it relevant to characterize their incidence parameters to determine their effect not only at subsoil or terrestrial surface levels but also throughout the atmosphere. To determine the physical parameters of the primary cosmic ray, the implementation of robust algorithms capable of reconstructing the cascade from the measured values is required, with a high level of reliability. Therefore, it is proposed to build a machine learning system that will be fed from the cosmic ray simulations in CORSIKA at different energies that lie in a range [10⁹-10¹²] eV. in order to generate a trained particle and pattern recognition system to obtain greater efficiency when inferring the nature of the origin of the cascade for EAS in the atmosphere considering atmospheric models.

Keywords: CORSIKA, cosmic rays, eas, Colombia

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Authors: Clotilde Guyon, Nada Jmari, Yen-Chin Li, Jean Denoyel, Noriyuki Fujikado, Christophe Blanchet, David Root, Matthieu Giraud

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Aire induces ectopic expression of a large repertoire of tissue-specific antigen (TSA) genes in thymic medullary epithelial cells (MECs), driving immunological self-tolerance in maturing T cells. Although important mechanisms of Aire-induced transcription have recently been disclosed through the identification and the study of Aire’s partners, the fine transcriptional functions underlied by a number of them and conferred to Aire are still unknown. Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) is an essential mRNA processing step regulated by the termination complex consisting of 85 proteins, 10 of them have been related to Aire. We evaluated APA in MECs in vivo by microarray analysis with mRNA-spanning probes and RNA deep sequencing. We uncovered the preference of Aire-dependent transcripts for short-3’UTR isoforms and for proximal poly(A) site selection marked by the increased binding of the cleavage factor Cstf-64. RNA interference of the 10 Aire-related proteins revealed that Clp1, a member of the core termination complex, exerts a profound effect on short 3’UTR isoform preference. Clp1 is also significantly upregulated in the MECs compared to 25 mouse tissues in which we found that TSA expression is associated with longer 3’UTR isoforms. Aire-dependent transcripts escape a global 3’UTR lengthening associated with MEC differentiation, thereby potentiating the repressive effect of microRNAs that are globally upregulated in mature MECs. Consistent with these findings, RNA deep sequencing of actinomycinD-treated MECs revealed the increased stability of short 3’UTR Aire-induced transcripts, resulting in TSA transcripts accumulation and contributing for their enrichment in the MECs.

Keywords: Aire, central tolerance, miRNAs, transcription termination

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Authors: Jiahao Tian, Michael D. Porter

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Law enforcement agencies are tasked with crime prevention and crime reduction under limited resources. Having an accurate temporal estimate of the crime rate would be valuable to achieve such a goal. However, estimation is usually complicated by the interval-censored nature of crime data. We cast the problem of intensity estimation as a Poisson regression using an EM algorithm to estimate the parameters. Two special penalties are added that provide smoothness over the time of day and day of the week. This approach presented here provides accurate intensity estimates and can also uncover day-of-week clusters that share the same intensity patterns. Anticipating where and when crimes might occur is a key element to successful policing strategies. However, this task is complicated by the presence of interval-censored data. The censored data refers to the type of data that the event time is only known to lie within an interval instead of being observed exactly. This type of data is prevailing in the field of criminology because of the absence of victims for certain types of crime. Despite its importance, the research in temporal analysis of crime has lagged behind the spatial component. Inspired by the success of solving crime-related problems with a statistical approach, we propose a statistical model for the temporal intensity estimation of crime with censored data. The model is built on Poisson regression and has special penalty terms added to the likelihood. An EM algorithm was derived to obtain maximum likelihood estimates, and the resulting model shows superior performance to the competing model. Our research is in line with the smart policing initiative (SPI) proposed by the Bureau Justice of Assistance (BJA) as an effort to support law enforcement agencies in building evidence-based, data-driven law enforcement tactics. The goal is to identify strategic approaches that are effective in crime prevention and reduction. In our case, we allow agencies to deploy their resources for a relatively short period of time to achieve the maximum level of crime reduction. By analyzing a particular area within cities where data are available, our proposed approach could not only provide an accurate estimate of intensities for the time unit considered but a time-variation crime incidence pattern. Both will be helpful in the allocation of limited resources by either improving the existing patrol plan with the understanding of the discovery of the day of week cluster or supporting extra resources available.

Keywords: cluster detection, EM algorithm, interval censoring, intensity estimation

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Authors: Hyunchul Ahn, William X. S. Wong

Abstract:

Corporate credit rating prediction is one of the most important topics, which has been studied by researchers in the last decade. Over the last decade, researchers are pushing the limit to enhance the exactness of the corporate credit rating prediction model by applying several data-driven tools including statistical and artificial intelligence methods. Among them, multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) has been widely applied due to its good predictability. However, heuristics, for example, parameters of a kernel function, appropriate feature and instance subset, has become the main reason for the critics on MSVM, as they have dictate the MSVM architectural variables. This study presents a hybrid MSVM model that is intended to optimize all the parameter such as feature selection, instance selection, and kernel parameter. Our model adopts genetic algorithm (GA) to simultaneously optimize multiple heterogeneous design factors of MSVM.

Keywords: corporate credit rating prediction, Feature selection, genetic algorithms, instance selection, multiclass support vector machines

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Authors: Hamdi Amroun, Yacine Benziani, Mehdi Ammi

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In this paper, we want to determine whether the accurate prediction of nicotine concentration can be obtained by using a network of smart objects and an e-cigarette. The approach consists of, first, the recognition of factors influencing smoking cessation such as physical activity recognition and participant’s behaviors (using both smartphone and smartwatch), then the prediction of the configuration of the e-cigarette (in terms of nicotine concentration, power, and resistance of e-cigarette). The study uses a network of commonly connected objects; a smartwatch, a smartphone, and an e-cigarette transported by the participants during an uncontrolled experiment. The data obtained from sensors carried in the three devices were trained by a Long short-term memory algorithm (LSTM). Results show that our LSTM-based model allows predicting the configuration of the e-cigarette in terms of nicotine concentration, power, and resistance with a root mean square error percentage of 12.9%, 9.15%, and 11.84%, respectively. This study can help to better control consumption of nicotine and offer an intelligent configuration of the e-cigarette to users.

Keywords: Iot, activity recognition, automatic classification, unconstrained environment

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Authors: N. A. Kazemi Sefat, M. M. Mohammadi, J. Hadjati, S. Talebi, M. Ajami, H. Daneshvar

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Colorectal cancer metastases result in a significant number of cancer related deaths. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors induce growth arrest and apoptosis in a variety of human cancer cells. Sodium butyrate (SB) is a short chain fatty acid, belongs to HDAC inhibitors which is released in the colonic lumen as a consequence of fiber fermentation. In this study, we are about to assess the effect of sodium butyrate on HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cell line. The viability of cells was measured by microscopic morphologic study and MTT assay. After 48 hours, treatments more than 10 mM lead to cell injury in HCT116 by increasing cell granulation and decreasing cell adhesion (p>0.05). After 72 hours, treatments at 10 mM and more lead to significant cell injury (p<0.05). Our results may suggest that the gene expression which is contributed in cell proliferation and apoptosis has been changed under pressure of HDAC inhibition.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, sodium butyrate, cytotoxicity, MTT

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Authors: John P. O’Sullivan, Thomas M. P. Ratouis, Michael J. O’Sullivan

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As the use of geothermal energy grows internationally more effort is required to monitor and protect areas with rare and important geothermal surface features. A number of approaches are presented for developing and calibrating numerical geothermal reservoir models that are capable of accurately representing geothermal surface features. The approaches are discussed in the context of cases studies of the Rotorua geothermal system and the Orakei-korako geothermal system, both of which contain important surface features. The results show that models are able to match the available field data accurately and hence can be used as valuable tools for predicting the future response of the systems to changes in use.

Keywords: geothermal reservoir models, surface features, monitoring, TOUGH2

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Authors: Sara Gallo, Margherita Pasini, Margherita Brondino, Daniela Raccanello, Roberto Burro, Elisa Menardo

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Most of the studies on the ability of environments to recover people’s cognitive resources have been conducted in laboratory using simulated environments (e.g., photographs, videos, or virtual reality), based on the implicit assumption that exposure to simulated environments has the same effects of exposure to real environments. However, the technical characteristics of simulated environments, such as the dynamic or static characteristics of the stimulus, critically affect their perception. Measuring perceived restorativeness in situ rather than in laboratory could increase the validity of the obtained measurements. Personal mobile devices could be useful because they allow accessing immediately online surveys when people are directly exposed to an environment. At the same time, it becomes important to develop short and reliable measuring instruments that allow a quick assessment of the restorative qualities of the environments. One of the frequently used self-report measures to assess perceived restorativeness is the “Perceived Restorativeness Scale” (PRS) based on Attention Restoration Theory. A lot of different versions have been proposed and used according to different research purposes and needs, without studying their validity. This longitudinal study reported some preliminary validation analyses on a short version of original scale, the PRS-6, developed to be quick and mobile-friendly. It is composed of 6 items assessing fascination and being-away. 102 Italian university students participated to the study, 84% female with age ranging from 18 to 47 (M = 20.7; SD = 2.9). Data were obtained through a survey online that asked them to report their perceived restorativeness of the environment they were in (and the kind of environment) and their positive emotion (Positive and Negative Affective Schedule, PANAS) once a day for seven days. Cronbach alpha and item-total correlations were used to assess reliability and internal consistency. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) models were run to study the factorial structure (construct validity). Correlation analyses between PRS and PANAS scores were used to check discriminant validity. In the end, multigroup CFA models were used to study measurement invariance (configural, metric, scalar, strict) between different mobile devices and between day of assessment. On the whole, the PRS-6 showed good psychometric proprieties, similar to those of the original scale, and invariance across devices and days. These results suggested that the PRS-6 could be a valid alternative to assess perceived restorativeness when researchers need a brief and immediate evaluation of the recovery quality of an environment.

Keywords: restorativeness, validation, short scale development, psychometrics proprieties

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Authors: Michael Lousis

Abstract:

The systematic identification of the most conspicuous and significant errors made by learners during three-years of testing of their progress in learning Arithmetic are presented in this article. How these errors have changed over three-years of school instruction of Arithmetic also is shown. The sample is comprised of two hundred (200) English students and one hundred and fifty (150) Greek students. These students were purposefully selected according to their participation in each testing session in the development of the three-year Kassel Project in England and Greece, in both domains simultaneously in Arithmetic and Algebra. The data sample includes six test-scripts corresponding to three testing sessions in both Arithmetic and Algebra respectively.

Keywords: arithmetic, errors, Kassel Project, progress of learning

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Authors: Azza Zagouani

Abstract:

Introduction: In the work of William Faulkner, characters often evade the boundaries and categories of patriarchal standards of order. Female characters like Lena Grove and Joanna Burden cross thresholds in attempts to gain liberation, while others fail to do so. They stand as non-conformists and refuse established patterns of feminine behavior, such as marriage and motherhood after. They refute submissiveness, domesticity and abstinence to reshape their own identities. The presence of independent and creative women represents new, unconventional images of female subjectivity. This paper will examine the structures of submission and oppression faced by Lena and Joanna, and will show how, in the end, they reshape themselves and their identities, and disrupt or even destroy patriarchal structures. Objectives: Participants will understand through the examples of Lena Grove and Joanna Burden that female subjectivities are constructions, and are constantly subject to change. Approaches: Two approaches will be used in the analysis of the subjectivity formation of Lena Grove and Joanna Burden. Following the arguments propounded by Judith Butler, We explore the ways in which Lena Grove maneuvers around the restrictions and the limitations imposed on her without any physical or psychological violence. She does this by properly performing the roles prescribed to her gendered body. Her repetitious performances of these roles are both the ones that are constructed to confine women and the vehicle for her travel. Her performance parodies the prescriptive roles and thereby reveals that they are cultural constructions. Second, We will explore the argument propounded by Kristeva that subjectivity is always in a state of development because we are always changing in context with changing circumstances. For example, in Light in August, Lena Grove changes the way she defines herself in light of the events of the novel. Also, Kristeva talks about stages of development: the semiotic stage and the symbolic stage. In Light in August, Joanna shows different levels of subjectivity as time passes. Early in the novel, Joanna is very connected to her upbringing. This suggests Kristeva’s concept of the semiotic, in which the daughter identifies closely to her parents. Kristeva relates the semiotic to a strong daughter/mother connection, but in the novel it is strong daughter/father/grandfather identification instead. Then as Joanna becomes sexually involved with Joe, she breaks off, and seems to go into an identity crisis. To me, this represents Kristeva’s move from the semiotic to the symbolic. When Joanna returns to a religious fanaticism, she is returning to a semiotic state. Detailed outline: At the outset of this paper, We will investigate the subjugation of women: social constraints, and the formation of the feminine identity in Light in August. Then, through the examples of Lena Grove’s attempt to cross the boundaries of community moralities and Joanna Burden’s refusal to submit to the standards of submissiveness, domesticity, and obstinance, We will reveal the tension between progressive conceptions of individual freedom and social constraints that limit this freedom. In the second part of the paper, We will underscore the rhetoric of femininity in Light in August: subjugation through naming. The implications of both female’s names offer a powerful contrast between the two different forms of subjectivity. Conclusion: Through Faulkner’s novel, We demonstrate that female subjectivity is an open-ended issue. The spiral shaping of its form maintains its characteristics as a process changing according to different circumstances.

Keywords: female subjectivity, Faulkner’s light August, gender, sexuality, diversity

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Authors: Asmau Mukhtar Ahmed, Olga Duran

Abstract:

Hydrocarbon (HC) spills constitute a significant problem that causes great concern to the environment. With the latest technology (hyperspectral images) and state of the earth techniques (image processing tools), hydrocarbon spills can easily be detected at an early stage to mitigate the effects caused by such menace. In this study; a controlled laboratory experiment was used, and clay soil was mixed and homogenized with different hydrocarbon types (diesel, bio-diesel, and petrol). The different mixtures were scanned with HYSPEX hyperspectral camera under constant illumination to generate the hypersectral datasets used for this experiment. So far, the Short Wave Infrared Region (SWIR) has been exploited in detecting HC spills with excellent accuracy. However, the Near-Infrared Region (NIR) is somewhat unexplored with regards to HC contamination and how it affects the spectrum of soils. In this study, Deep Neural Network (DNN) was applied to the controlled datasets to detect and quantify the amount of HC spills in soils in the Near-Infrared Region. The initial results are extremely encouraging because it indicates that the DNN was able to identify features of HC in the Near-Infrared Region with a good level of accuracy.

Keywords: hydrocarbon, Deep Neural Network, short wave infrared region, near-infrared region, hyperspectral image

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Farooq A. Al-Sheikh, Ali Elkamel, William A. Anderson

Abstract:

A fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is one of the effective units in many refineries. Modeling and optimization of FCCU were done by many researchers in past decades, but in this research, comparison between post- and oxy-combustion was studied in the regenerator-FCCU. Therefore, a simplified mathematical model was derived by doing mass/heat balances around both reactor and regenerator. A state space analysis was employed to show effects of the flow rates variables such as air, feed, spent catalyst, regenerated catalyst and flue gas on the output variables. The main aim of studying dynamic responses is to figure out the most influencing variables that affect both reactor/regenerator temperatures; also, finding the upper/lower limits of the influencing variables to ensure that temperatures of the reactors and regenerator work within normal operating conditions. Therefore, those values will be used as side constraints in the optimization technique to find appropriate operating regimes. The objective functions were modeled to be maximizing the energy in the reactor while minimizing the energy consumption in the regenerator. In conclusion, an oxy-combustion process can be used instead of a post-combustion one.

Keywords: FCCU modeling, optimization, oxy-combustion, post-combustion

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Michael Tupý, Vít Petránek

Abstract:

The paper is focused on testing of the poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) layer which had the function of a CO2 insulating protection against concrete and mortar carbonation. The barrier efficiency of PVB was verified by the measurement of diffusion characteristics. Two different types of PVB were tested; original extruded PVB sheet and PVB sheet made from PVB dispersion which was obtained from recycled windshields. The work deals with the testing CO2 diffusion when polymer sheets were exposed to a CO2 atmosphere (10% v/v CO2) with 0% RH. The excellent barrier capability against CO2 permeability of original and also recycled types of PVB layers was observed. This application of PVB waste can bring advantageous use in civil engineering and significant environmental contribution.

Keywords: windshield, poly(vinyl butyral), mortar, diffusion, carbonatation, polymer waste

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Adewole A. Ayoade, Marshall R. Sweatt, John P. H. Steele, Qi Han, Khaled Al-Wahedi, Hamad Karki, William A. Yearsley

Abstract:

Understanding the behavioral characteristics of sensors is a crucial step in fusing data from several sensors of different types. This paper introduces a practical, real-time approach to integrate heterogeneous sensor data to achieve higher accuracy than would be possible from any one individual sensor in localizing a mobile robot. We use this approach in both indoor and outdoor environments and it is especially appropriate for those environments like oil and gas refineries due to their sparse and featureless nature. We have studied the individual contribution of each sensor data to the overall combined accuracy achieved from the fusion process. A Sequential Update Extended Kalman Filter(EKF) using validation gates was used to integrate GPS data, Compass data, WiFi data, Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU) data, Vehicle Velocity, and pose estimates from Fiducial marker system. Results show that the approach can enable a mobile robot to navigate autonomously in any environment using a priori information.

Keywords: inspection mobile robot, navigation, sensor fusion, sequential update extended Kalman filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 460